by C. A. Harms
I was pretty sure Colt and I were about to have our first battle.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Colt
“I’ll have this delivered to you on Tuesday,” I assured Donna. I was in a hurry to get her moving on.
The moment she brought up Alex’s past, my heart sank. How the hell did she know anything about Alex?
After seeing the look on her face, I know she thought I had told her. I had to reassure her that I had said nothing to Donna. Alex and her troubles were nobody’s business.
“That sounds great Colton. I look forward to seeing you,” Donna cooed, and I was honestly five seconds from guiding her fake ass out the door.
The minute she was gone, I locked the front door and charged for the stairway. I took the stairs two at a time to the top.
Alex and Maddison were at the sink, washing the vegetables that Alexis cut. She looked at me, and my stomach felt like it had hit the damn floor. The hurt look on her face made me feel sick.
She looked down at her hands, giving me her back. A million things running through my head had my heart racing. How should I handle this?
Walking up beside her, I leaned against the countertop with my hip. Crossing my arms over my chest, I waited for her to look at me, but she didn’t.
“Look Colt, I’m making dinner,” Maddison announced proudly.
“I see that, ladybug. I’m sure it’s gonna be real good too.” She smiled a toothy grin and I smiled back at her.
I waited a few more seconds before I leaned in close to Alex’s ear and whispered, “I never said anything to her.”
She shook her head from side to side. “Not now, Colt.” Her simple statement set off a panic inside me.
“What do you mean, not now?” I asked.
Without looking at me, she stated firmly, “Exactly what I said. Not now. I won’t talk about it in front of Maddison.”
“Why?” There wasn’t really much to talk about. I had never said shit to Donna.
“Because I said so. Because things like that don’t need to be discussed when she’s around.” She still wouldn’t look at me. I wanted to respect her choice, but I was pissed that she wouldn’t listen to me.
“But I never…” I tried to explain again.
She cut me off, and this time she turned her head and looked up at me. “I said not now.”
Seconds passed as we stared at one another. A mixture of hurt and anger flooded her eyes.
I shook my head and pushed off the counter. Walking to the bathroom, I flipped on the shower and tore my clothes off.
I spent the next thirty minutes trying to figure out how the hell Donna could have figured out anything about Alexis and her past.
***
Dinner was quiet, except for the sweet chatter of Maddison. She was our source of distraction. Alex continued to avoid eye contact, but I didn’t let it stop me from trying.
“How did everything go today with Alice?” I asked her.
“Good, I start Monday,” she said without looking up from her plate.
“We need to go look at cars for you.” We had continued to put it off, and now she needed one.
“I’ll take care of it.” She was pissed. I had no doubt about it. Her voice was distant and dismissive.
Maddison jumped up from the table and took her plate to the sink. I waited until I knew she was far enough away from us, busying herself with some toys in the living room.
I turned back around and leaned forward a little closer to Alex. “How long do you plan on being pissed off at me for something I didn’t even do?”
Her eyes locked on mine as she narrowed them, glaring back at me. “Well, who else could have filled in your little friend about my past? I sure as hell didn’t tell some complete stranger my business, so that leaves you.”
She pushed her chair back and stood from the table. I sat silently watching her clear the table, one dish at a time. I was hoping she would work off some of her aggression.
“How is that supposed to make me feel, Colton?” she growled. “I walk in to find her drooling over you. My daughter and she appear to be all chummy, and then she snaps off about how sad my past is.”
Alex was doing everything she could to maintain her composure. I joined her in the kitchen and forced her to face me. “I never said shit to her about your past. I don’t know where that comment came from.”
We stood staring at one another, having a silent stand-off. She was mad as hell, and I was beginning to reach a level of anger myself. For her to think I would offer up her business to random people was enough to make me want to shake her until she wised up.
“How else would she know, Colt?” she asked.
I let the afternoon’s events run through my mind over and over. Donna had only stayed for a little over an hour. She waited patiently while I finished up with Mr. and Mrs. Williams, before I took the time to show her the piece she had ordered.
She sat with Maddison, and they laughed and colored side by side. Then the thought hit me.
“Hey Maddi, can you come in here a minute?” I hollered from the kitchen.
Alex wrinkled up her eyebrows and was about to ask what I was doing, when Maddi rounded the corner. She was carrying a baby doll and a blanket in her arms.
I knelt down on my knees and pulled her in close. “Did you have a nice afternoon with me down in the shop today?” I asked. She nodded her head and smiled big. “I like having you there too.”
I paused, watching her wrap her doll a little tighter in the blanket. “You made a few friends today too, didn’t ya?”
“Yes, they called me your little helper,” she announced with pride.
“That you were, sweetheart.” I ignored Alexis’ questioning expression. “Donna was pretty nice to you. You even colored together.” Her little head bobbed up and down in agreement. “What else did you two talk about besides coloring?”
She continued to toy with her blanket and the doll wrapped in it. “Um, we talked about you,” she stated.
A humph noise came from Alex. I ignored her and pushed a little further for information.
“What else?” I asked Maddi.
“I told her about Nana, and the dollies at her house. I miss those dollies, so maybe Nana will let me bring them here.” Maddi was slightly side-tracked by the dolls, and I had to redirect her back to our conversation.
“What else did you talk about?” I asked
She thought it over for a few minutes.
“Donna has never been to California. She asked me where we used to live.” My throat tightened, but I remained silent. “I’ll never go back there. Seth hurt mommy and he lives there.”
My eyes shot up and my gaze locked on Alexis’. Her glistening stare registered what had happened.
Donna had used Maddison to get information regarding our relationship. She was sneaky about it, pretending to be interested in Maddison and what she was doing. The entire thing now made me angry.
Alex knelt down in front of us. “Maddison, honey, you shouldn’t discuss personal things with strangers. Donna is a stranger. She doesn’t need to know about Seth or California.”
“She’s not a stranger, Mommy. She is Colton’s friend.” I shook my head and pinched the bridge of my nose in frustration.
I eased back from the two of them as Alex continued to try to explain privacy to Maddi. But making a young child understand the concept was pretty impossible. We now knew where Donna’s information about Alex had come from. Maddison was an easy target and had filled her in easily.
I walked toward the bedroom and slipped on a pair of jeans. I was sitting on the end of the bed, putting on my boots, when Alex entered the room. Her feet were stepping into view just in front of me, but I kept my eyes averted to the floor.
“Where are you going?” Alex asked in a low, pained whisper.
“Gonna take a drive.” I replied.
She knelt before me on her knees and scooted in closer. There was no way to avoid her eyes now. “Do
n’t leave,” she pleaded. “I’m sorry.”
I held her gaze for a moment before I leaned forward and kissed her forehead lightly. Standing up, I stepped around her and walked for the door. I just needed a break. The tension between us had built for hours, and now I just needed a break. I had to clear my head.
I was pissed that she didn’t believe me in the beginning, when I told her I had said nothing, but I could understand why not.
The best thing for us right now would be for me to distance myself for a while and calm down.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Alexis
Two hours had passed and Colt still had not returned. I was worried and nervous. I was wrong and I knew it. I should have listened to him. I should have let him explain when he tried. Instead, I had built up a wall and acted like a bitch. Now everything had fallen apart and I was lying awake in bed, waiting.
Maddison was already in bed and the loft was silent. It only made me feel that much more alone.
The soft click of the door made my heart race. Colt’s large silhouette filled the bedroom doorway. He stood staring at me through the light that filtered in from the bathroom.
Slowly he slipped his boots off and undid his pants, entering the room at a cautious pace. He sat on the edge of the bed and hung his head.
“Tonight really went to shit fast, didn’t it?” he groaned.
“Yeah, I messed up,” I confessed.
Colton turned around to look directly at me. “We both created this mess,” he stated. “So, our first fight. It was bound to happen, right?”
All I did was nod my head in agreement. I was embarrassed when Donna brought up my past. It was a surprise to hear her bring up things she shouldn’t have known. The easiest one to blame was Colt, because it seemed to be the only way she could have known.
“I’m sorry I was too stubborn to listen. If I had stopped long enough to let my anger go, I could have figured it out with you. Instead, I treated you like the enemy.” My heart literally ached within my chest. Fighting with Colton was something I couldn’t stomach. It made me weak, and I felt lost.
“You mean the world to me. I wouldn’t hurt you intentionally, ever,” he insisted. “I love you, baby. I don’t like this shit. Fighting and arguing, ignoring one another. That isn’t gonna fix anything.”
“I know,” I agreed.
Colton laced his fingers with mine as they rested on my outstretched leg.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Hanging with Mikey, the hero. That kid has a way of taking my mood and completely flipping it around. We played video games for over an hour, then vegged out on cold pizza and root beer.” He smiled at me. “Sorry if I made you worry.”
“I know you needed time. It just really sucked giving it to you. I’ve been planning my apology for the last two hours,” I told him.
He slid in a little closer and tilted my chin upward with his finger. “Let’s agree that we both screwed up. We both could have done things differently. Let’s also agree to work harder to get through shit like this together.”
Before I could answer, he kissed me, making me forget what I had planned to say. Instead of attempting to remember, I wrapped my arms around the back of his neck and pulled him down over me.
“Make love to me. I need you to,” I pleaded.
Colton didn’t speak. He just did exactly as I asked and slowly, but very sweetly, lost himself in our bliss.
***
“What are we doing here?” I asked as I crawled down from Colton’s truck, looking around the beautiful property at an older farm house set back from the road and surrounded by a wide variety of flowers. It was in desperate need of some TLC. It appeared to be set on maybe half an acre of land. A large detached garage sat back from the house, to the left.
“Two reasons, actually.” He whispered from behind me and nudged me forward.
Ann had taken Maddison and Mikey with her to a movie in town, so Colton had convinced me to go for a drive. I still had no idea what he had up his sleeve.
“Hello there, son. I’m glad you could make it.” A grey-haired older man spoke as he stepped down from the porch. “This pretty lady must be the girl you’re shopping for.”
I looked up at Colton in confusion. Shopping for?
All he did was chuckle before reaching out and shaking the older man’s hand.
“Which do you want to look at first?” he asked Colt.
“I’ll let you lead the way, Earl. You choose,” Colt replied.
I was so confused by their secret code. Obviously they had created a plan, and I just had to go along for the ride.
Earl led us to the separate garage and opened the side door. He motioned for us to enter before him. A light switch was flipped, and there in the garage, was a silver SUV of some kind. It looked like it was new, clean, and barely driven.
I looked back at Colton and he smiled at me. “So what do you think?” he asked.
“Um, what do I think? About that?” I pointed toward the SUV and waited, confused by what was going on.
“When my wife was still alive, my daughter insisted we needed a new car,” Earl explained. “It was a battle neither of us felt like fighting. We caved and bought this Tahoe. It was driven maybe a dozen times at most before my wife became ill. I have no use for it. I start it and move it around weekly, but that’s about it.”
Colton stepped closer and nudged me with his shoulder. “I’ve been doing some custom work for Earl’s daughter, who lives in Savannah. She introduced us.”
“So you brought me here to look at a car?” I asked as I continued to look over the barely used Tahoe. It was perfect.
“Well, the truck and a few other things,” he clarified.
Arching an eyebrow in confusion, I waited for him to explain. I noticed that Earl had stepped out, and Colt and I were now alone. “Earl is selling it all—the house, the land, and the Tahoe. His health is getting worse, and he is moving to Savannah to be closer to his daughter and her family.”
Colt stepped around in front of me and took my hands in his. “I know we talked about this, getting a bigger place. It needs a lot of work and some updates. Earl understands that too. He is being very reasonable about what he is asking.”
Colt placed his hand on my cheek and scanned his thumb across my jaw. “Three bedrooms, one and a half baths. Just under an acre of land. We could make it our own, go room to room and redo everything.”
My mind was racing and my heart was pounding. A house, a car. He had brought me here to take our next step. His lips gently touching mine made my heart race faster.
“Can I see the house, at least?” I asked. He smiled and tugged my hand toward the still- open doorway.
Earl was sitting on a porch swing at the back of the house, waiting with a smile as we approached. He stood up slowly, bracing himself against the side of the house. “You ready to see your new home, darlin’?”
My new home. The thought made me feel warm and comforted. The last time I felt like I had a true home was before Troy was killed, because he himself gave me that feeling. Colt and I followed behind Earl as he led us inside.
Colt was right. The home was in need of some updates. It still had old wallpaper and golden brown carpeting. The walls were faded and the colors were aged. But the space was perfect. The rooms were spacious.
I turned around and took Colt’s hand in mine, smiling up at him. I was sure my excitement was clear. “You think we could make this place a home for you and Maddison?”
I no longer cared if we were not alone. I closed the distance between us, rose up on my tip toes, and kissed him. I held his face in my hands and fought back the tears that were so close to spilling over.
“Our home is anywhere you are, Colton. It is you who provides us with that sense of security. You make us safe. So these walls will only hold our memories, the ones we all will create together.”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a hug. “I love you,” he whi
spered.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Colt
Over the last few weeks, things have moved quickly. Earl had found out he has an advanced stage of colon cancer, which unfortunately left him with limited time. He wanted to get the house sold and settled as quickly as possible.
Alexis and I are now the proud owners of our first home together. The Tahoe is perfect for Alex, and I could tell she loved it.
On the days that she worked, Maddison and I would work at the shop. When she came home, we all would spend the evenings working on the house or crashing at the loft.
I decided to hire Reed and Ben to help with the remodel. It was too hard to do it all on my own. I wanted to have it done by Christmas, and without their help, it would be impossible.
I found a few magazines lying around the loft—things were circled, or pages folded with ideas Alex liked. So after I ordered a few extra supplies and all three of us guys had put our heads together, I was bringing those dreams to life.
Alex would have her balcony off of the upstairs bedroom. She would have her dream kitchen with the island in the center. I was even extending the kitchen and adding a built-in nook with bench and table.
She was a little irritated when I told her she had to stay away from the house for a while. I knew in the end she would be happy, and I would be forgiven. Swearing Maddison to secrecy made me nervous, but I trusted that she would help me surprise her mommy.
***
“Colt.” Her voice sounded breathless. “Colt, where are you?”
I hollered down from upstairs, where Maddi and I were preparing homemade pizza. “Up here, babe.”
I heard her feet beating hard against the stairs. When she rounded the corner, her eyes were red and swollen. I brushed off my hands and rushed for her. “What’s going on, what happened?”
“He didn’t show up for court. Mom called to say he had skipped town. They’re looking for him.” She buried her face against my chest as I rubbed her back. “He was supposed to be in jail. He wasn’t supposed to be out walking the streets.”
